Filter cleaning system and method

ABSTRACT

A filter cleaning system for cleaning a filter element is provided. The filter cleaning system includes a set of pulse nozzles and a compressed air supply, which rotate together during a cleaning cycle to release pulse blasts at predetermined time intervals to clean the filter element.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention generally relates a system and method of cleaning filtersand more particularly relates to a cleaning system using pressurizedair.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Filters are generally used for filtering particulate matters in fluidstreams. As a particulate laden fluid stream flows through a filter, theparticulates accumulate on and/or within the filters. The particulatesbuild up and block pores of the filter, which restricts the fluid flowthrough the filter. When the fluid flow through the filter issignificantly restricted by the particulate build-up, the filter must becleaned or replaced. To extend a life of the filter, cleaning systemshave been developed to clean the particulate build up by applying a jetof pressurized air in the reverse fluid flow direction. Such prior artincludes Apparatus And Method For Cleaning An Air Filter Unit, U.S. Pat.No. 6,902,592 to Green et al. assigned to the present assignee, theentire disclosure of which are incorporated herein by reference thereto.

The present invention relates to improvements over prior filter cleaningsystems.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, the invention provides a filter cleaning system forcleaning a filter element. The filter cleaning system includes acompressed air manifold, at least one pulse nozzle operatively attachedto the compressed air manifold, and a rotating plate assembly. Thecompressed air manifold and the set of pulse nozzles are mounted to therotating plate assembly. The rotating plate assembly rotates during acleaning cycle.

In another aspect, the invention provides a method of cleaning a filterelement with a filter cleaning system. The filter cleaning systemincludes a compressed air manifold, at least on pulse nozzle operativelyattached to the compressed air manifold, and a rotating plate assembly,wherein the compressed air manifold and the set of pulse nozzles aremounted to the rotating plate assembly. The method of cleaning a filterelement includes steps of placing a filter element around the filtercleaning system, rotating the rotating plate assembly during a cleaningcycle, and releasing at least one pulse of pressurized air from the atleast one pulse nozzle during the cleaning cycle at controlledlocations.

In yet another aspect, the invention provides a method of cleaning acylindrical filter element with a filter cleaning system positionedwithin a central cavity of the filter element. The method includes stepsof rotating the filter cleaning system about a central axis of thefilter element, releasing a plurality of pulses of pressurized air fromthe filter cleaning system in an organized sequence of a first cleaningcycle.

Other aspects, objectives and advantages of the invention will becomemore apparent from the following detailed description when taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of thespecification illustrate several aspects of the present invention and,together with the description, serve to explain the principles of theinvention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective angular view of a filter cleaning systemaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective front view of the filter cleaning system of FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of a portable air cleaner assemblyaccording to an embodiment of the present invention with the filtercleaning system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the filter cleaning system in a filterelement of the portable air cleaner assembly of FIG. 3 with the filterelement partially cut away and depicting a vertical coverage by a set ofpulse nozzles;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of filter cleaning system of FIG. 1 showingpulse blasts from a the set of pulse nozzles;

FIG. 6 is a schematic cleaning cycle schedule according to an embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of a horizontal coverage of a pulseaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a graph of an average positive pressure generated by a pulseblast during a cleaning cycle according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic top view of a filter cleaning system in a filtermedia showing a horizontal coverage of pulse blasts during two cleaningcycles, wherein each cleaning cycle includes five pulses according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a top view of a rotary plate assembly according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view of the rotary plate assembly of FIG.10 showing brush contacts between a top plate and a bottom plate;

FIG. 12 is a bottom view of the top plate of FIG. 11 showing contacttrace rings; and

FIG. 13 is a isometric side view of the filter cleaning system of FIG.1.

While the invention will be described in connection with certainpreferred embodiments, there is no intent to limit it to thoseembodiments. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives,modifications and equivalents as included within the spirit and scope ofthe invention as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a filter cleaning system 10 for cleaning dust loadedair filter elements using pressurized air pulses according to anembodiment of the present invention. Although this embodiment isdescribed as a filter cleaning system for air filter elements, thefilter cleaning system can also be used to clean other fluid filtrationfilter elements. The filter cleaning system of the present invention canshorten a duration of a cleaning cycle and provide a fuller cleaningcoverage over prior cleaning systems, while using less compressed airand energy.

As shown in FIGS. 1-2, the filter cleaning system 10 generally includesa set of pulse nozzles 12, 14 and a compressed air manifold 16, whichare mounted on a rotatable turntable 18, which is driven by a drivemechanism including pulleys 20, 22, a timing belt 28, and a motor 28.Although the set of pulse nozzles includes two pulse nozzles in thisembodiment, the set of pulse nozzles can include one pulse nozzle ormore than two pulse nozzles in other embodiments. FIG. 3 shows a crosssectional view of the filter cleaning system 10 in a portable aircleaner system 30 according an embodiment of the present invention. Suchportable air cleaner systems are disclosed in PCT. Pat. Application Nos.PCT/US2008/082727 to Heynam et al. and PCT/US2008/082747 to Heynam etal. assigned to the present assignee, the entire disclosure of which areincorporated herein by reference thereto. Although the filter cleaningsystem 10 is described and illustrated as being installed in a portablecleaning system 30 in this embodiment, the filter cleaning system 10 maybe a stand alone unit or a part of various other filtration systems inother embodiments.

The portable air cleaner system 30 shown in FIG. 3 generally includes afilter housing 32 comprising an air intake region 34 and a dustcollection region 36. The air intake region 34 includes an air inlet 38for receiving a particulate laden air stream and a blower 40 comprisingan electrical motor 42 and an impeller 44 that is operative to draw theair in through the air inlet 38 and into the dust collection region 36.The dust collection region 36 includes a filter element 46, which isaccessible via an access hatch 48, the filter cleaning system 10, a dustcollection tray 50, and an air outlet 52 located in the access hatch 48for directing the filtered air out through a selected side of theportable air cleaner system 30. The dust laden dirty air drawn from theexterior of the portable air cleaner system 30 through the air intakeregion 34 passes through the filter element 46, wherein particulatematter is filtered by the filter media 58, and the filtered air exitsthrough the air outlet 52, as shown by a air flow direction 54.

As the particle laden air passes through the filter element 46,particles accumulate on the filter media 58, wherein particles blockpores of a filter media, thereby restricting the air flow through thefilter element 46. When the air flow is significantly restricted and apressure drop across the filter element 46 increases substantially, thefilter element 46 must be replaced or cleaned for further operation ofthe air cleaner system.

In this embodiment, the portable air cleaner system 30 includes a filterelement monitor (not shown), which monitors a pressure drop across thefilter element 46. When the pressure drop across the filter element 46reaches a preset level, an indicator on a control panel (not shown) ofthe portable air cleaner system 30 lights up to instruct a user to pressa button to manually start a cleaning cycle. Other embodiments mayinclude other type of indicating devices, for example, a dial indicatoror a gauge, to alert the user. Although the cleaning cycle is manuallystarted by the user in this embodiment, the cleaning cycle may beprogrammed to run automatically upon the filter element monitordetecting the preset level of the pressure drop in other embodiments.

During the cleaning cycle, the set of pulse nozzles 12, 14 and thecompressed air manifold 16, which supplies the compressed air to thepulse nozzles 12, 14, rotate on the turntable 18, wherein the pulsenozzles 12, 14 release pulse blasts at predetermined intervals. FIG. 4illustrates an enlarged view of the filter cleaning system 10 in thefilter element 46 with the filter element 46 partially cut away to showthe pulse blasts 56, 57 from the pulse nozzles 12, 14 during thecleaning cycle. The pulse blasts 56, 57 are short burst of highpressure, high velocity air directed toward a target area of an innersurface of a filter media 58 as shown in FIG. 4. The pressurized airblasts from a clean air side 60 to a dirty air side 62 of the dustcollection region 36. As the pulse blasts 56, 57 pass through the filtermedia in a reverse air flow direction 64, a “cake” of dust or otherparticulate matter falls off from the target area of the filter media58, which is then collected in the dust collection tray 50, which can beremoved and emptied. As a result, the targeted area of the filter media58, which was hit by the pulse blasts 56, 57, is cleaned, wherein poresof the filter media 58 are reopened for further filtering of a dustladen air stream.

The cleaning system 10 can be configured to have multiple pulses ofpulse blasts at timed intervals as the pulse nozzles 12, 14 rotate onthe turntable 18 to target different areas of the filter element 46 tomaximize a cleaning coverage. In some embodiments, the cleaning cyclemay include between 1-100 pulses; preferably between 1-50 pulses; andmore preferably between 2-10 pulses. The turntable 18 may have arotational speed of up to 25 RPM; preferably between 1-10 RPM; and morepreferably between 1-5 RPM. The cleaning cycle may have a cycle timebetween 1-300 seconds; preferably between 1-60 seconds; and morepreferably between 20-60 seconds. The pulses of the cleaning cycle maybe scheduled to have a same interval or different intervals.

FIG. 6 shows cleaning cycle schematics according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. In this embodiment, each cleaning cycle 86 includesfive pulses 94, 96, 98, 100, 102 with equal intervals 88 between them.In this embodiment, there is a 45 seconds delay 80 from the time theuser presses the start button 82 to a start of the cleaning cycle 84. Inother embodiments, there may be no delay or a delay shorter than 45seconds or a delay longer than 45 seconds. The delay 80 allows a timefor the blower 40 (FIG. 3) to turn off and stop the air flow through thefilter element 46. The turntable 18 begins to rotate at the start of thecleaning cycle 84 at a rotational speed of about 1.9 RPM for a 28seconds cleaning cycle 86, as shown in a motor output schematic 104.During the cleaning cycle 86, the set of pulse nozzles 12, 14 releasefive pulses 94, 96, 98, 100, 102 of pulse blasts. As shown in a solenoidoutput schematic 106, the first pulse 94 starts one second after thestart of the cleaning cycle 84. The time interval 88 between the pulsesis set at about 6.23 seconds, and a duration of each pulse 90 is set at90 milliseconds.

FIG. 5 shows the filter cleaning system 10 of FIG. 4 without the filterelement 46 to better illustrate the pulse blasts 56, 57. As shown, thepulse blasts 56, 57 spreads from the pulse nozzles 12, 14 in a generallyconical shape, wherein the pulse blasts 56, 57 partially overlap witheach other around a half way between the pulse nozzles 12, 14. FIG. 7schematically illustrates a maximum horizontal coverage 92 of the pulseblasts of the first pulse 94. As shown, the pulse 94 has the maximumhorizontal coverage 92 of about 90°.

FIG. 9 schematically shows pulses from two cleaning cycles according tothe cleaning cycle schedule of FIG. 6. As discussed above, one cleaningcycle of this embodiment includes five pulses at equal intervals. InFIG. 9, five pulses from a first cleaning cycle is shown in dashed lineswith reference numbers 94, 96, 98, 100, 102, and five pulses from asecond cleaning cycle is shown with reference numbers 108, 110, 112,114, 116. Further, and as discussed above, each of the pulse blasts fromthe pulse nozzles 12, 14 of each of the five pulses has a maximumhorizontal coverage of about 90°. As such, each of the five pulses of acleaning cycle may overlap horizontally with adjacent pulses to providemore complete cleaning coverage. The maximum horizontal coverage of apulse blast in other embodiments may be controlled to maximize acleaning coverage of the filter cleaning system during a cleaning cycle,and thus, may be set to cover less than or greater than 90°.

Now referring to FIGS. 1-6 and 9, the turntable 18 starts to rotate in aclockwise direction 93 at the start of the cleaning cycle 84. Althoughthe turntable 18 in this embodiment is configured to rotate in theclockwise direction, the turntable 18 may be configured to turn in acounterclockwise direction in other embodiments. Thereafter, the pulsenozzles 12, 14 release pulse blasts 56, 57 at a first pulse 94, which is1 second after the start of the cleaning cycle 84. Then, 6.23 secondsafter the start of the first pulse 94, the second pulse 96 is releasedfrom the pulse nozzles 12, 14. During this first 6.23 seconds interval,the pulse nozzles 12, 14 on the turntable 18 rotate about 72°, as shownin FIG. 9. The subsequent pulses 98, 100, 102 are released with the same6.23 seconds interval between them. As such, at the completion of thefirst cleaning cycle, the five pulses 94, 96, 98, 100, 102, each havingthe maximum horizontal coverage of about 90°, can substantially coverall inner surface of the filter element 46,

As shown in FIG. 6, the cleaning cycle 86 of this embodiment has a cycleduration of 28 seconds at a rotational speed of about 1.9 RPM. As such,the turntable 18 turns less than 360° (about 320°) during the cleaningcycle. This allows the pulses of the subsequent cleaning cycle to targetnew areas. As shown in FIG. 9, the five pulses 108, 110, 112, 114, 116of the second cleaning cycle are offset from the five pulses 94, 96, 98,100, 102 of the first cleaning cycle, thereby targeting the center ofthe pulse blasts at different areas of filter element 46. Although notshown, each of subsequent cleaning cycles is offset from the previouscycle in a same manner to provide yet different target cleaning areas.Thus, each cleaning cycle is a substantially similar controlled cleaningcycle offset from each other. Such offset pulses of subsequent cleaningcycles can further extend a filter element life by improving thecoverage of pulses over multiple cleaning cycles by avoiding repeatedpulses being directed at the same location and reducing the possibilityof failing to shoot blasts of air at portions of the filter. In otherembodiments, pulses of a cleaning cycle can be off set from priorcleaning cycles by arranging the set of pulse nozzles in a predeterminedposition for a first pulse, for example, by rotating the turntable morethan 360° during a cleaning cycle.

The filter cleaning system 10 is also configured for maximum verticalcoverage by the pulses of the cleaning cycle. As shown in FIG. 4, theset of air nozzles 12, 14 (nozzle 14 is not shown in FIG. 4, see FIGS.1-3) is configured and positioned such that the pulse blasts 56, 57 fromthe set of pulse nozzles 12, 14 cover a whole length 66 of the filterelement 46. That is, each of the pulse blasts 56, 57 released from theair nozzles 12, 14 spreads such that a vertical coverage of the pulseblast 56 from the pulse nozzle 12 overlaps with a vertical coverage ofthe pulse blast 57 from the pulse nozzle 14 to leave no void of thepressurized air along the length 66 of the filter media 58. In thisembodiment, the set of pulse nozzles 12, 14 are positioned to releasethe pulse blasts in an opposite hemisphere from the targeted area tomaximize the vertical and horizontal spreads of the pulse blasts 56, 57(if the pulse nozzles 12, 14 of this embodiment were placed in the samehemisphere as the targeted filter media area, the vertical spreads ofthe pulse blasts 56, 57 from the pulse nozzles 12, 14 may not cover thewhole length 66 of the filter element 46.)

In one embodiment, the filter cleaning system 10 is configured to cleana filter element 46 having a length of about 27 inches. FIG. 8 showspositive air pressures generated by pulse blasts 56, 57 at fivedifferent vertical locations along the length 66 of the filter element46. The pressure measurements were taken at locations 170, 172, 174,176, 178 as shown in FIG. 4, wherein multiple pressure measurementsalong the horizontal coverage 92 expanding between −45° and 45° as shownin FIG. 7 were taken at each of the locations 170, 172, 174, 176, 178.As shown in FIG. 8, the pulse blasts 56, 57 generate substantiallyconsistent positive pressures along the length of the filter element 46,wherein the positive pressures generated in the horizontal coverageexpanding between −20° and 20° are above 1″ w.g. (inches of watergauge).

Now that the operation of the filter cleaning system 10 has beendescribed generally, components of the filter cleaning system 10 andtheir arrangements will be explained. Referring back to FIGS. 1-2, thefilter cleaning system 10 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention generally includes the set of pulse nozzles 12, 14, thecompressed air manifold 16, and the turntable 18. FIG. 13 illustrates across sectional side view of the filter cleaning system 10. Thecompressed air manifold 16 includes a diaphragm pulse valve 70, ablowpipe 72, and an accumulator 74 for delivering compressed air to theset of pulse nozzles 12, 14. As shown in FIG. 13, the blowpipe 72 isthreaded into the diaphragm valve 70 on one end, and attached to pipes76, 78 leading to the pulse nozzles 12, 14 on the other end. The pipes76, 78 are rigid pipes to support the pulse nozzles 12, 14 at fixedpositions relative to the compressed air manifold 16. As shown, thecompressed air manifold 16 is strategically arranged between the pulsenozzles 12, 14, such that the compressed air manifold 16 does notinterrupt paths of the pulse blasts released from the pulse nozzles 12,14, thereby allowing maximum cleaning coverage by the pulse blasts. Inthis embodiment the pulse nozzles 12, 14 are arranged on a vertical axisperpendicular to a top surface 123 of the compressed air manifold 16.However, the pulse nozzles may be arranged in different angularpositions relative to the compressed air manifold in other embodiments.In some embodiments, the pulse nozzles may be configured to rotaterelative to the compressed air manifold.

As discussed above, the compressed air manifold 16 rotates with thepulse nozzles 12, 14 during the cleaning cycle, which allows the pulsenozzles 12, 14 and the compressed air manifold 16 to be closely arrangedto each other. Such close arrangement between the pulse nozzles 12, 14,and the compressed air manifold 16 can improve efficiency of thecompressed air output by reducing resistance when compared to priorcleaning systems including a stationary compressed air manifold, whichrequires a longer distance between the compressed air manifold and pulsenozzles to allow pulse nozzles to rotate without the compressed airmanifold interrupting pulse blast paths.

In one embodiment, the compressed air manifold 16 is configured toinclude the accumulator 74 having a volume of up to 1 ft³, preferablybetween 0.05 to 0.5 ft³, and more preferably about 0.126 ft³; anoperating pressure of between 40-125 PSI, preferably between 80-100 PSI;and a compressed air usage per pulse of up to 3 SCFM, preferably about0.83 SCFM. In one embodiment, a cleaning cycle of the filter cleaningsystem 10 includes five pulses with an equal interval between them,wherein a compressed air usage per pulse is about 0.83 SCFM and acompressed air usage per cycle is about 4.15 SCFM. The pulses of thecleaning cycle are spaced apart at a timed interval to allow sufficienttime for the accumulator to refill between pulses or between cleaningcycles.

The compressed air manifold 16 and the set of pulse nozzles 12, 14 aremounted on the turntable 18 via frames 120, 122. The turntable 18 issupported on a base 124 including a filter element seal 126, a turntablesupport 128, and a center pipe 26. As shown the FIGS. 1, 5 and 13, theturntable 18 is arranged about the center pipe 26, supported on itsouter perimeter and configured to rotate against bearings 129 in theturntable support 128. The large radial diameter of the turntablesupport 128, which supports the outer perimeter of the turntable 18,minimizes recoiling of the filter cleaning system 10 due to highpressure pulse blasts.

The turntable 18 is driven by a drive mechanism 19 including the drivepulley 22, the driven pulley 20, the timing belt 24, and a motor 28. Inother embodiment, other suitable drive mechanisms, such as gears, may beused to rotate the turntable 18. The motor 28 is mounted on the frame120. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 13, the drive pulley 22 is attached tothe motor 28 and the driven pulley 20 is mounted on the center pipe 26.The drive mechanism 19 rotates the turntable 18, wherein the set ofpulse nozzles 12, 14, and the compressed air manifold 16 are mounted,about the center pipe 26 in a controlled (i.e. not random) manner duringa cleaning cycle. The center pipe 26 is also connected to an air supply(not shown) via an elbow 26 located on the bottom of the base 124. Theair from the air supply flows through the center pipe 26 and through atube 132 attached to the center pipe 26 via an adapter 134, and into thecompressed air manifold 16. The adapter 134 is sealed to the center pipe26 and rotates relative thereto.

FIG. 10 shows a top view of a rotary plate assembly 140 including theturntable 18, the base 124, and a contact plate 138 according to anembodiment of the present invention. As shown, the contact plate 138 isattached to the turntable 18 in the center area, such that the contactplate 138 is arranged between the center pipe 26 and the turntable 18.The center pipe 26 passes through the center hole in the contact plate138. The contact plate 138 provides power to the motor 28 and a solenoidfor the pulse valve 70, which are mounted on the turntable 18, whereinthe power transfers along the contact plate 138 and the base plate 142,which are arranged parallel to each other (FIG. 11) to allow theturntable 18 to rotate without any hard electrical wires interrupting arotational path during cleaning cycles. The base plate 142 is a centerportion of the base 124 in this embodiment, but the base plate 142 maybe a separate piece independent of base 124 in other embodiments.

FIG. 12 shows a cross sectional view of the contact plate 138 and thebase plate 142. As shown, the base plate 142 includes three brushcontacts 146, 148, 150, which are connected to a electrical power supply(not shown) through hard wires 152, 154, 156. Each of the brush contacts146, 148, 150 are spring loaded to assist contact against the contactplate 138, as the contact plate 138, which is attached to the turntable18, rotates during a cleaning cycle. FIG. 12 shows a bottom surface ofthe contact plate 138 showing three contact trace rings 158, 160, 162,which correspond to the brush contacts 146, 148, 150 of the base plate142. Further, the contact plate 138 includes three contact leads 164,166, 168 on its top surface (FIG. 10), which correspond to the contacttrace rings 158, 160, 162. The contact leads 164, 166, 168 are then hardwired to the motor 28, the solenoid for the pulse valve 70, and anyother components mounted on the turntable 18 requiring electricity toprovide necessary power. Although, the contact plate and the base plateof this embodiment provide three brush contacts, other embodiments mayinclude one or two contacts, or more than three contacts.

As shown in FIG. 11, the brush contacts are arranged between the contactplate 138 and the base plate 142 within the clean air side 60 of the aircleaner system. Further, the brush contacts are substantially isolatedfrom the rest of the filter cleaning system 10 by being substantiallyenclosed by the contact plate 138, base plate 142 and the turntablesupport 128. Further, the contact plate 138 is arranged such that thecontact trace rings 158, 160, 162 are facing down. As such, the contactscan remain relatively free of dust, debris and/or moisture, which canbridge contact between the top and bottom plates 142, 144. Thus, such acontact arrangement can ensure power supply to the motor and solenoid,while allowing free rotational movement of the cleaning system assemblyby eliminating hard wires for power supply.

All references, including publications, patent applications, and patentscited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent asif each reference were individually and specifically indicated to beincorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein.

The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in thecontext of describing the invention (especially in the context of thefollowing claims) is to be construed to cover both the singular and theplural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted bycontext. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing”are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, butnot limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. Recitation of ranges of valuesherein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referringindividually to each separate value falling within the range, unlessotherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated intothe specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methodsdescribed herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwiseindicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The useof any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”)provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the inventionand does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unlessotherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construedas indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice ofthe invention.

Preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein, includingthe best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention.Variations of those preferred embodiments may become apparent to thoseof ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. Theinventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations asappropriate, and the inventors intend for the invention to be practicedotherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, thisinvention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subjectmatter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicablelaw. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in allpossible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unlessotherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.

What is claimed is:
 1. A filter cleaning system, comprising: acompressed air supply; at least one pulse nozzle operatively attached tothe compressed air supply; a rotating plate assembly, wherein thecompressed air supply and the at least one pulse nozzles are mounted tothe rotating plate assembly; wherein the rotating plate assembly rotatesduring a cleaning cycle; and wherein the at least one pulse nozzleincludes a first pulse nozzle and a second pulse nozzle, wherein thefirst pulse nozzle is arranged vertically above the compressed airsupply, and the second pulse nozzle is arranged vertically below thecompressed air supply.
 2. The filter cleaning system of claim 1, whereinthe first pulse nozzle and the second pulse nozzle are arranged on avertical axis; wherein the vertical axis extends perpendicularlyrelative to a horizontal center plane of the compressed air supply. 3.The filter cleaning system of claim 2, wherein the filter cleaningsystem is placed in a central cavity of a filter element; wherein the atleast one pulse nozzle is arranged in a first semicircle of thecross-section of the filter element, and a target cleaning area of thefilter element is in a second, opposite, semicircle of the cross-sectionof the filter element.
 4. A filter cleaning system, comprising: acompressed air supply; at least one pulse nozzle operatively attached tothe compressed air supply; a rotating plate assembly, wherein thecompressed air supply and the at least one pulse nozzles are mounted tothe rotating plate assembly; wherein the rotating plate assembly rotatesduring a cleaning cycle; a drive mechanism, the drive mechanism rotatingthe rotating plate assembly at a constant rotating speed; and whereinthe compressed air supply includes a compressed air manifold and asolenoid pulse valve; and wherein the rotating plate assembly includes acontact mounting plate assembly providing power to the motor and thesolenoid pulse valve; wherein the contact mounting plate assemblyincludes a contact plate and a base plate, wherein the power transfersbetween the contact plate and the base plate free of any hard wires. 5.The filter cleaning system of claim 4, wherein the at least one pulsenozzle releases a pulse blast toward a target area of a filter atpredetermined time interval during the cleaning cycle.
 6. The filtercleaning system of claim 4, wherein the base plate includes at least onebrush contact connected to power, and the contact plate includes atleast one contact trace ring corresponding to the at least one brushcontact, wherein power transfers from the at least one brush contact tothe corresponding at least one contact trace ring during rotation of therotating plate assembly; wherein the motor and the solenoid pulse valveare connected to at least one contact lead on a surface of the contactplate, the at least one contact lead corresponding to the at least onecontact trace ring.
 7. The filter cleaning system of claim 4, whereinthe compressed air supply and the at least one pulse nozzle rotatetogether on the rotating plate assembly during the cleaning cycle. 8.The filter cleaning system of claim 4, wherein the at least one pulsenozzle releases multiple pulses of pressurized air during the cleaningcycle, wherein the multiple pulses cover substantially all innersurface.
 9. The filter cleaning system of claim 4, further including acontrol system including a cleaning cycle logic, wherein the controlsystem controls the rotating plate assembly and the compressed airsupply during the cleaning cycle according to the cleaning cycle logic;wherein the cleaning cycle logic include a rotational speed of therotating plate assembly, a cleaning cycle duration, a number of pulsesper cleaning logic, and a time interval between pulses.
 10. The filtercleaning system of claim 9, wherein the rotational speed is between 1-3RPM; the cleaning cycle duration is between 10 to 120 seconds; thenumber of pulses per cleaning logic is between 2 to 20; and the timeinterval between pulses is 1 to 20 seconds.
 11. The filter cleaningsystem of claim 9, wherein the cleaning cycle is programmed such thatthe pulses of a subsequent cleaning cycle cover new target areas thantarget areas of pulses of a previous cleaning cycle.
 12. The filtercleaning system of claim 11, wherein the subsequent cycle is identicalto the previous cycle but angularly offset therefrom.
 13. A filtercleaning system, comprising: a compressed air supply; at least one pulsenozzle operatively attached to the compressed air supply; a rotatingplate assembly, wherein the compressed air supply and the at least onepulse nozzles are mounted to the rotating plate assembly; wherein therotating plate assembly rotates during a cleaning cycle; and wherein therotating plate assembly includes a turntable and a turntable support;the turntable support including a plurality of bearings, wherein theturntable support supports the turntable around an outer perimeter ofthe turntable; wherein the turntable rotates against the turntablesupport on the plurality of bearings.
 14. A method of cleaning a filterelement with a filter cleaning system, comprising steps of: placing afilter element around the filter cleaning system, the cleaning systemcomprising: a compressed air supply; at least one pulse nozzleoperatively attached to the compressed air supply; a rotating plateassembly, wherein the compressed air supply and the at least one pulsenozzles are mounted to the rotating plate assembly, the rotating plateassembly rotates during a cleaning cycle; rotating the rotating plateassembly during a cleaning cycle; and releasing at least one pulse ofpressurized air from the at least one pulse nozzle during the cleaningcycle at controlled locations.
 15. A method of cleaning a cylindricalfilter element with a filter cleaning system positioned within a centralcavity of the filter element, comprising the steps of: rotating thefilter cleaning system about a central axis of the filter element, thefilter cleaning system comprising: a compressed air supply; at least onepulse nozzle operatively attached to the compressed air supply; arotating plate assembly, wherein the compressed air supply and the atleast one pulse nozzles are mounted to the rotating plate assembly, therotating plate assembly rotates during a cleaning cycle; and releasing aplurality of pulses of pressurized air from the filter cleaning systemin an organized sequence of a first cleaning cycle.
 16. The method ofclaim 15, wherein the organized sequence has the plurality of pulsesarranged at constant intervals.
 17. The method of claim 15, furthercomprising a second cleaning cycle being substantially identical to thefirst cleaning cycle except the plurality of pulses of the secondcleaning cycle are angularly offset from the plurality of pulses of thefirst cleaning cycle.
 18. The method of claim 15, wherein the pulses ofpressurized air travel more than the radial distance from the cleaningsystem to the inner surface of the cylindrical filter element, such thatthe pulses are released from the cleaning system from a first semicircleof the cross-section of the filter element and the pulses contact thefilter element in a second, opposite, semicircle of the cross-section ofthe filter element.